Editing Richard Pryor (section)

===1980–1989: Established career===
In 1980, Pryor became the first black actor to earn a million dollars for a single film when he was hired to star in ''[[Stir Crazy (film)|Stir Crazy]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stir Crazy Grosses $100M|newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 5, 1981 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/05/movies/stir-crazy-grosses-100-million-at-the-box-office.html|last1=Harmetz |first1=Aljean }}</ref> On June 9, 1980, while on a [[Free base#Freebasing|freebasing]] binge during the making of the film,<ref name=nytdayafter/> Pryor doused himself in rum and set himself on fire.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23724276|title=The demons that drove Richard Pryor to make us laugh|last=Summers|first=Chris|date=August 25, 2013|publisher=BBC}}</ref> Pryor incorporated a description of the incident into his comedy show ''[[Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip]]'' (1982). He joked that the event was caused by dunking a cookie into a glass of low-fat and [[pasteurized]] milk, causing an explosion. At the end of the bit, he poked fun at people who told jokes about it by waving a lit match and saying, "What's that? Richard Pryor running down the street."
[[File:Richard Pryor (1986) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Pryor in 1986]]
Before the freebasing incident, Pryor was about to start filming Mel Brooks' ''[[History of the World, Part I]]'' (1981), but was replaced at the last minute by [[Gregory Hines]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shutt |first=Mike |date=January 18, 2023 |title=Mel Brooks Wrote A Key Role In History Of The World, Part I With Richard Pryor In Mind |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1171302/mel-brooks-wrote-a-key-role-in-history-of-the-world-part-i-with-richard-pryor-in-mind/ |access-date=November 20, 2023|website=[[/Film]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Perkins |first=Dennis |date=January 19, 2023 |title=Revisit Mel Brooks' Juvenile Epic 'History of the World: Part I' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/history-of-the-world-part-i/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=[[Ultimate Classic Rock]] |language=en}}</ref> Likewise, Pryor was scheduled for an appearance on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' at that time, which forced the producers to cast their British writer, [[Chris Langham]], as the guest star for that episode instead.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Here's why certain 'Muppet Show' episodes are missing from Disney+ |url=https://ew.com/tv/why-muppet-show-episodes-are-missing-from-disney-plus/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Strand |first=Anthony |date=January 29, 2021 |title=The Muppet Show: 40 Years Later – Chris Langham |url=https://toughpigs.com/tms40-chris-langham/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=ToughPigs |language=en-US}}</ref> After his "final performance", Pryor did not stay away from stand-up comedy for long. Within a year, he filmed and released a new concert film and accompanying album, ''[[Richard Pryor: Here and Now]]'' (1983), which he directed himself. He wrote and directed a fictionalized account of his life, ''[[Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling]]'', which was inspired by the 1980 freebasing incident.<ref>{{Cite magazine |first=Richard|last=Brody|title=Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling |url=https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/jo-jo-dancer-your-life-is-calling |access-date=November 20, 2023 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |language=en}}</ref>

In 1983 Pryor signed a five-year contract with [[Columbia Pictures]] for $40&nbsp;million and he started his own production company, Indigo Productions.<ref>{{cite news |title=Richard Pryor Ouster of Blacks Criticized |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/17/movies/richard-pryor-ouster-of-blacks-criticized.html |quote=Mr. Pryor announced in May that he had signed a five-year, $40&nbsp;million production deal with Columbia Pictures and promised to open up opportunities for minorities at his Indigo Productions. |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date= December 17, 1983|issue=45895|volume=133 |access-date=September 18, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="BBCobit">{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> writer |date=December 10, 2005| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4517714.stm |title=Comedian Richard Pryor Dead at 65&nbsp;– Groundbreaking Black U.S. Comedian Richard Pryor Has Died after Almost 20 Years with Multiple Sclerosis |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date= January 11, 2010}}</ref> Softer, more formulaic films followed, including ''[[Superman III]]'' (1983), which earned Pryor $4&nbsp;million, ''[[Brewster's Millions (1985 film)|Brewster's Millions]]'' (1985), ''[[Moving (1988 film)|Moving]]'' (1988), and ''[[See No Evil, Hear No Evil (film)|See No Evil, Hear No Evil]]'' (1989). The only film project from this period that recalled his rough roots was Pryor's semiautobiographic debut as a writer-director, ''Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling'', which was not a major success. Pryor was also originally considered for the role of Billy Ray Valentine on ''[[Trading Places]]'' (1983), before [[Eddie Murphy]] won the part.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wile |first=Rob |title=It's The 30-Year Anniversary Of The Greatest Wall Street Movie Ever Made: Here's The Story Behind It |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/an-oral-history-of-trading-places-2013-6 |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=[[Business Insider]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McQuade |first=Dan |date=August 29, 2016 |title=Trading Places Was Originally Written With Gene Wilder in Mind |url=https://www.phillymag.com/city/2016/08/29/trading-places-was-originally-written-with-gene-wilder-in-mind/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=[[Philadelphia Magazine]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2020 |title=The Complicated Friendship of Comedy Duo Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder |url=https://www.biography.com/actors/richard-pryor-gene-wilder-friendship |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=[[Biography.com|Biography]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Despite his reputation for constantly using profanity on and off camera, Pryor briefly hosted a children's show on [[CBS]] called ''[[Pryor's Place]]'' (1984). Like ''[[Sesame Street]]'' (where Pryor appeared in a few oft-repeated segments), ''Pryor's Place'' featured a cast of puppets (animated by [[Sid and Marty Krofft]]), hanging out and having fun in a friendly inner-city environment along with several children and characters portrayed by Pryor himself. Its theme song was performed by [[Ray Parker Jr.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.retrojunk.com/tv/videos/948-pryors-place/|title=Retro Junk|website=retrojunk.com}}</ref> ''Pryor's Place'' frequently dealt with more sobering issues than ''Sesame Street''. It was cancelled shortly after its debut.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pryor's Place |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/pryors-place/1030030094/ |website=[[TV Guide]] |access-date=February 5, 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Richard Pryor (1986) (cropped)-2.jpg|thumb|right|Pryor in February 1986]]
Pryor co-hosted the [[Academy Awards]] twice - the [[49th Academy Awards]] in 1977 with [[Warren Beatty]], [[Ellen Burstyn]], and [[Jane Fonda]] and again at the [[55th Academy Awards]] in 1983 alongside [[Liza Minnelli]], [[Dudley Moore]], and [[Walter Matthau]]. He was also nominated for an [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series]] on the television series ''[[Chicago Hope]]''. Network censors had warned Pryor about his profanity for the Academy Awards, and after a slip early in the program, a five-second delay was instituted when returning from a commercial break. Pryor is one of only three ''Saturday Night Live'' hosts to be subjected to a five-second delay (along with [[Sam Kinison]] in 1986 and [[Andrew Dice Clay]] in 1990).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saturday Night Not-So-Live: Richard Pryor Makes Television History |url=https://www.everythingzoomer.com/arts-entertainment/stars-royals/2011/12/13/saturday-night-not-so-live-richard-pryor-makes-television-history/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=everythingzoomer.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Clay's appearance on Saturday Night Live draws high ratings - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/05/14/Clays-appearance-on-Saturday-Night-Live-draws-high-ratings/7106642657600/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |work=United Press International |language=en}}</ref>

Pryor developed a reputation for being demanding and disrespectful on film sets, and for making selfish and difficult requests. In his autobiography ''Kiss Me Like a Stranger'', co-star Gene Wilder says that Pryor was frequently late to the set during filming of ''Stir Crazy'', and that he demanded, among other things, a helicopter to fly him to and from set because he was the star. Pryor was accused of using allegations of on-set racism to force the hand of film producers into giving him more money:
{{cquote|One day during our lunch hour in the last week of filming, the [[craft service]] man handed out slices of watermelon to each of us. Richard, the whole camera crew, and I sat together in a big sound studio eating a number of watermelon slices, talking and joking. As a gag, some members of the crew used a piece of watermelon as a Frisbee, and tossed it back and forth to each other. One piece of watermelon landed at Richard's feet. He got up and went home. Filming stopped. The next day, Richard announced that he knew very well what the significance of watermelon was. He said that he was quitting show business and would not return to this film. The day after that, Richard walked in, all smiles. I wasn't privy to all the negotiations that went on between Columbia and Richard's lawyers, but the camera operator who had thrown that errant piece of watermelon had been fired that day. I assume now that Richard was using drugs during ''Stir Crazy''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilder |first=Gene |authorlink=Gene Wilder |date=2005 |title=Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art |url=https://archive.org/details/kissmelikestrang00wild |url-access=registration |location=New York City |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/kissmelikestrang00wild/page/185 185]–186 |isbn=978-0-312-33706-3 |oclc=475142187}}</ref>}}

Pryor appeared in ''[[Harlem Nights]]'' (1989), a comedy-drama crime film starring three generations of black comedians (Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and [[Redd Foxx]]).<ref>{{Citation |last=Murphy |first=Eddie |title=Harlem Nights |date=November 17, 1989 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097481/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_harlem%2520ni |type=Comedy, Crime, Drama |access-date=November 20, 2023 |others=Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx |publisher=Eddie Murphy Productions, Paramount Pictures}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Schickel |first=Richard |date=November 27, 1989 |title=Cinema: Murphy's One-Man Band |language=en-US |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,959130,00.html |access-date=November 20, 2023 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilmington |first=Michael |date=November 17, 1989|title=MOVIE REVIEW : Eddie Murphy's 'Harlem Nights': Slick, Slack |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-17-ca-1571-story.html |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref>